Washington (CNN) – Eliot Spitzer is unleashing a pair of new television ads Wednesday in the New York City comptroller's race framing himself as an anti-establishment populist, a theme he has been hitting on the campaign trail since unexpectedly jumping into the race last month.

Both of the 30-second ads are titled "You," and portray Spitzer as a champion of working people standing up against special interests, corporations and Wall Street – "an independent voice," as Spitzer's campaign has taken to describing the former governor and attorney general.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Iowa Rep. Steve King, whose hard line immigration rhetoric has angered some of his fellow Republicans and delighted Democrats eager to keep Hispanic voters in their fold, is quietly planning meetings with political activists in the early presidential primary state of South Carolina, CNN has learned.

King will travel to the state in late August to attend the Charleston Meeting, a closed-door gathering of right-leaning politicians and business leaders organized by author and activist Mallory Factor, two Republican sources said.FULL POST

(CNN) - Bobby Jindal is courting one of South Carolina's most popular Republican politicians this weekend in New Orleans, the latest sign of the Louisiana governor's interest in a 2016 presidential bid.

Jindal is hosting a fundraiser for South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Friday afternoon at a steak house in New Orleans, where Scott spent the morning speaking to a conservative conference.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's Republican nominee for governor, has pulled out of this weekend's RedState Gathering, an annual conservative conference being held this year in New Orleans.

Washington (CNN) - Three prominent Republican governors thought to have designs on the White House will descend on the early primary state of South Carolina later this month to raise money for Gov. Nikki Haley, who is bracing for what could be a tough re-election fight next year.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will appear as "special guests" at an Aug. 26 fundraiser for Haley in Greenville, according to a copy of an invitation to the event obtained by CNN.FULL POST

After Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus announced a "50 state strategy" last week that will deploy paid field staffers in every state in a push to rebuild the GOP's stale voter contact operation, Steele, the party's former chairman, said he "had to laugh."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - After weaknesses in its ground game were badly exposed in 2012, the Republican National Committee is taking a page straight out of the Democratic playbook and launching an ambitious “50 state strategy” that will steer party resources and staffers to every corner of the country as it works to repair its voter contact effort before the next presidential election.

The party’s short-term vision with the project is to help the GOP win key races this November and in next year’s midterm elections.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - The prospect of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell resigning as he copes with a federal investigation into the nearly $150,000 worth of lavish gifts the Republican and his family received from a wealthy executive is unlikely, people close to the governor insist.

Yet the topic remains a tantalizing conversation piece around Richmond these days, mainly because it would be an act without modern precedent.